Submitted by NimishApte t3_10a3gai in askscience
Alimbiquated t1_j42vt6g wrote
Reply to comment by NimdokBennyandAM in How do giraffes breathe? by NimishApte
Dinosaurs (including birds) have a circular breathing system that makes it possible to have even more extreme necks.
dzhastin t1_j42yrme wrote
I learned how to circular breathe when I was in band. I once played the same note on my French horn for 5 straight minutes without stopping
arabsandals t1_j43fve3 wrote
Yeah. That's not the same thing. You were simply using your cheeks to store air, not genuinely continuously breathing like some birds can.
Kittelsen t1_j43u05c wrote
So, where does it exit. It would be so awesome to be able to do this, I could be a human fan...
Sharlinator t1_j4422kh wrote
The avian respiratory system is very different from the mammalian system. Bird lungs don't expand and contract like mammals' do; rather birds have several air sacs that expand and contract in an alternating fashion and push air unidirectionally through the lungs; the lungs have millions of narrow "tubes" where gas exchange occurs, whereas the alveoli in mammalian lungs are "bags" with only one opening.
Kevin_Uxbridge t1_j45zdp4 wrote
Which is also why they can fly and do just fine at high altitudes where the oxygen gets thin. Amazing creatures, birds.
thuhrowawa t1_j608oig wrote
It can also serve as an affiliative signal when done in a certain way. You might benefit from giving it a try.
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Alimbiquated t1_j4399nd wrote
But you don't have hollow bones to pump stale air into, except in your nose.
InSight89 t1_j44iur8 wrote
I was going to ask how a long neck dinosaur managed it. So, do they have two separate tubes. One for inhale and one for exhale?
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